March 2018
I defend my thesis in 9 days. A curious condition has plagued me this semester, one that I have only been previously aware of afflicting pregnant women, soon-to-be married couples, or those who are about to try Starbucks for the first time; the perpetual state of receiving unwanted advice. Although in all these situations, from thesis defending to Frappuccino expositions, there’s a smattering of worthwhile advice hidden between all the junk—like “Wear something comfortable” and “Don’t make a complicated order when it’s really crowded”. Sometimes there are nuggets of advice that are applicable to more than one topic like the always timeless, “Just enjoy yourself”. I have heard a phrase in the last few months repeated to me as advice that should maybe be filed somewhere between the good and the trash advice, the equally classic “DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL.”
On its face, great advice. I’ve interpreted it numerous ways, heavily depending on my current mental state. Examples include: stop trying to make my PowerPoint easier to understand, stop trying to make people understand how good my data is, stop make people try to understand why this research was does, (notice the “stop something” patterning). Then, about the fiftieth time I heard this advice, I thought,
‘So, I should present novel data, in a non-novel way. They DO want me to reinvent the wheel, but juuuuuust enough. In just the right way. Don’t wanna scare anyone. Don’t wanna break any rules outside my field.’
And the way things do, it became a thorn in my side. My inner three-year-old began to well up with indignation of the unfairness. Isn’t it wild that we toil over making new discoveries every day, but then default to familiar territory when it comes to disseminating results? How crazy would it be if someone unlocked the cure for Alzheimer’s disease, unknowingly, yet was told before they presented their data to “not reinvent the wheel”. Absurd in hindsight, isn’t it? It makes you wonder the quality research we have been missing for the sake of ~the wheel~.
My thesis is, alas, not the cure for Alzheimer’s disease. I will be going back and reinventing the wheel though, and I encourage you all to do the same. Don’t be discouraged if you’re changing things “too fast” for your field. It’s a new world y’all, be part of it.
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Georgia Mitchell
Georgia is a Masters student in the College of Dentistry
On its face, great advice. I’ve interpreted it numerous ways, heavily depending on my current mental state. Examples include: stop trying to make my PowerPoint easier to understand, stop trying to make people understand how good my data is, stop make people try to understand why this research was does, (notice the “stop something” patterning). Then, about the fiftieth time I heard this advice, I thought,
‘So, I should present novel data, in a non-novel way. They DO want me to reinvent the wheel, but juuuuuust enough. In just the right way. Don’t wanna scare anyone. Don’t wanna break any rules outside my field.’
And the way things do, it became a thorn in my side. My inner three-year-old began to well up with indignation of the unfairness. Isn’t it wild that we toil over making new discoveries every day, but then default to familiar territory when it comes to disseminating results? How crazy would it be if someone unlocked the cure for Alzheimer’s disease, unknowingly, yet was told before they presented their data to “not reinvent the wheel”. Absurd in hindsight, isn’t it? It makes you wonder the quality research we have been missing for the sake of ~the wheel~.
My thesis is, alas, not the cure for Alzheimer’s disease. I will be going back and reinventing the wheel though, and I encourage you all to do the same. Don’t be discouraged if you’re changing things “too fast” for your field. It’s a new world y’all, be part of it.
---
Georgia Mitchell
Georgia is a Masters student in the College of Dentistry